Lift and pull ring container



July 14, 1970 PUGH, 5 3,520,464

LIFT AND PULL RING CONTAINER Filed March 11, 1968 William A. Pugm Sr.

1N VENTOR.

United States Patent Of 3,520,464 LIFT AND PULL RING CONTAINER William A. Pugh, Sr., 5200 S. Harper Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60615 Filed Mar. 11, 1968, Ser. No. 711,964 Int. Cl. B65d /72, 25/28 US. Cl. 229-17 '7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A container of the gable type having a pouring spout formed by unfolding one end of the gable in which a lift ring capable of receiving a finger or fingers is connected to the apex of the gable end of the container for use in decanting material from the container. A pull ring is associ ated with the pouring spout so that it may be moved to the pouring position without the necessity of engaging the edges of the pouring spout by grasping with the fingers thereby eliminating contamination of the products when poured from the pouring spout and eliminating soiling of the fingers when opening the pouring spout,

Containers constructed of cardboard material and coated with wax, plastic or the like have received wide acceptance in various industries for packaging products. One type of container that is widely used is provided with a gable type closed end in which one end edge of the gable is openable or unfolded to form a pouring spout for enabling the products therein to be easily dispensed. This type of carton has been used in packages due to its several advantages. For example, it is plastic coated when made from paper or cardboard, easier to form, easier to print on, leakproof and sanitary. Some of the disadvantages of the container reside in the difiiculties encountered in opening the pouring spout by unfolding one end of the gable which requires that the two inclined edges be forced upwardly thus separating the seal at the apex of the gable and then the inner panels forming the gable must be folded outwardly to form a pouring spout. It is usually necessary to engage the top edge of the inner panels with the finger or fingernails in order to pull the pouring spout out to its pouring position inasmuch as it is often laminated or sealed by the heat sealant material.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a pull ring on the inner panels forming the gable clostu'e to enable these panels to be pulled outwardly after the inclined edges of the gable have been forced upwardly to break the seal at the apex of the gable thus greatly facilitating opening of the spout and enabling it to be opened without engagement with the fingers thereby retaining the sanitary condition of the container.

Another disadvantage of containers of this nature is that they frequently are made with relatively large capacities for liquid products or other products which are not rigid. When the container is grasped, the sides are rather flexible and it is rather difficult to hold the container and pour the contents therefrom through the pouring spout. For example, milk quite often is packaged in one half gallon containers and such containers quite frequently slip out of the hand when pouring milk therefrom, especially when children are using the container to pour milk from. Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a lift ring for receiving at least one finger or possibly more attached to the apex of the gable closure to provide positive supporting engagement with the container so that it cannot be easily dropped and also to enable the container to be easily tilted for pouring products therefrom.

A further object of the present invention is to provide p ice a container with a lift ring at the apex of the gable top end thereof together with a pull ring associated with the pouring spout to facilitate movement of the pouring spout from its folded position to its extended pouring position with the structures being relatively simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture inasmuch as very little modification of existing packaging machinery would be necessary.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container with the lift ring and pull ring of the present invention incorporated therein;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 but with the pouring spout in extended pouring position;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 3-3 of FIG. 1 illustrating the manner in which the lift ring is attached to the apex of the gable end of the container;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 2 but with the lift ring omitted;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 4 but illustrating another type of pull ring; and

FIG. 6 is a detail sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 66 of FIG. 5 illustrating further structural details of this embodiment of the invention.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the container illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 is generally designated by the numeral 10 and includes opposed walls 12 and opposed walls 14. The shape and configuration of the container may vary depending upon the size requirement. While the container may be square, rectangular or other shapes, the walls 12 may be considered sidewalls while the walls 14 may be considered end walls.

The gable structure of the container 10 is conventional with the sidewalls 12 including inwardly inclined portions 16 terminating in upstanding terminal end portions 18 which are connected together to form an apex or vertex 20 for the container. The ends walls 14 include a triangular extension 22 having fold lines 24 at each edge thereof which converge upwardly and define one edge of inwardly folded panels 26 which terminate in vertical extensions 28 which are joined to the triangular panels 26 along fold lines 30 with the fold lines 30 and 24 meeting at the apex of the triangular panel 22 as illustrated in FIG. 2. The ends of the extensions 28 are joined by a fold line 32. As illustrated, the top edge of the extensions 28 as designated by numeral 34 are at a lesser height than the extensions 18 so that the facing surfaces of the extensions 28 are heat sealed to each other and the facing surfaces of the extensions 18 above the top edges 34 of the extensions 28 are sealed to each other by suitable sealing material thus forming a gable closure for the container 10 and to this extent, the container 10 is conventional in construction. In opening the container 10 in a conventional manner, the outer edges of the panels 26 designated by numeral 36 are forced upwardly and outwardly along a fold line 38 extending from the base of the triangular panel 22 upwardly and inwardly of the panels 16. As the edges 36 are forced upwardly and outwardly, the sealed edges of the extensions 28 and 18 will be separated. It then is necessary to have the fold line 32 move outwardly so that the pouring spout is formed. In accomplishing this, it usually is necessary to engage the top edge 34 of the extensions 28 with the fingernail and pull the fold line 32 outwardly.

To eliminate this unsanitary condition, a pull ring 40 of substantially semi-circular construction is attached to the triangular panel 22. The pull ring 40 is integral with a triangular panel 42 which is attached to the apex of the triangular panel 22 adjacent its juncture with the fold line 32 so that outward force exerted on the pull ring 40 will pivot the panel 22 outwardly about its base and also pull the fold line 32 outwardly to form the pouring spout after the edges 36 have been forced upwardly and outwardly. When the gable closure is in closed condition as in FIG. 1, the pull ring 40 will lie against the surface of the panel 22. However, by inserting the tip end of the finger downwardly into the interior of the pull ring 40, it may be easily grasped and pulled laterally outwardly for pulling the pouring spout into its pouring condition after the edges 36 and adjacent portions of the panels 26 and panels 16 are pivoted upwardly for rupturing the seal between the extensions 28 and 18.

Attached to the apex 20 formed by the extensions 18 is a lift ring 44 which is substantially cylindrical in configuration and provided with depending attachment tabs 46 which are secured to the outer surface of the extensions 18 by heat seal material, adhesive material, plastic or the like in order to provide a sufficient bond to enable the entire container and its contents to be supported from the lift ring 44.

The structure illustrated in FIG. 4 is identical to the structure illustrated in FIGS. 13 except that the lift ring has been omitted. The pull ring 40 is still employed and may be of a shape and size commensurate with the size of the associated panels 22 and 26.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate another form of the container generally designated by numeral 10' in which the structure is the same as that illustrated in FIG. 4 except that the panel 22' is provided with a semi-circular cut-out 41 defining the pull ring 40'. The pull ring 40 is defined by a pair of semi-circular slits defining the cut-out 41 with the orientation of the pull ring 40' being the same as the orientation of the pull ring 40 with the pull ring 40' being an integral part of the panel 22'. In order to close the cut-out 41 in the panel 22', a closure panel or backing panel 43 is provided on the inner surface of the panel 22 and is secured thereto as by sealing with a suitable adhesive such as hot melt plastic or the like. The shape and size of the insert panel 43 is commensurate with the shape and size of the triangular panel 22' thus preventing leakage through the cut-out 41 and wickage of the liquid material.

Large containers or cartons such as one half gallon, one gallon and two gallon cartons are filled and passed into a machine that attaches the carrying ring or lift ring to the vertex of the gable sealed top of the carton. This ring is clamped onto the apex of the filled carton and a hot air gun or the like is employed so that the plastic covered strip is heat sealed to the container. The ring is used to pick up containers from a carrying case and also to carry the containers from the store and for pouring contents from the carton.

The pull ring is stamped out of the panel 22 with the fingernail cut-out 45 being formed at the same time by a single stamping operation. The triangular insert panel 43 fits inside of the carton and bridges over or covers the stamped out portion 41 with the insert panel 43 engaged against the inner surface of the score lines 24' inside the end panel 22'. The panel 43 is heat sealed to make it leakproof and the machine pulls the ring 40' slightly up about crease lines 47 before complete set up of the sealant. This ring facilitates pulling the spout end out to open the spout to provide an easier opening container especially for children. This eliminates the necessity of using ones fingernails or a knife to delaminate the opening to form the pouring spout which quite often is sealed shut by excessive flow of plastic coating during the sealing operation.

The structure illustrated in FIG. 4 has a base as a separate piece which is heat sealed at the manufacturing plant and folded flat and sent to the dairies or other places for filling. Thus, the machinery employing the device of FIG. 4 is the same insofar as the filling and sealing operation is concerned. Thus, the lift ring may be employed to pick up and decant the products while the pull ring is employed to open the pouring spout. The rings may be made of one piece of either paperboard or of plastic or provided with a plastic coating to prevent absorption of vapors from a refrigerator or cooler.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In a container having a gable type closure at the upper end thereof including an upstanding apex openable from one edge to a point adjacent the center thereof, a lift ring comprising a flexible loop having depending tabs thereon disposed alongside of the apex and immovably heat sealed thereto solely on the unopened portion thereof whereby the flexible loop may be used for lifting and manipulating the container and also permitting stacking of containers, a pouring spout at one end of the gable type closure adapted to be unfolded to form a pouring spout, and a pull ring on one panel of sa d gable type closure to unfold the pouring spout to pouring condition, said pull ring being attached to the outer surface of said one panel of the gable type closure, said panel being triangular with the apex uppermost, said pull ring including a triangular base plate attached to the triangular panel and conforming with the apex portion thereof.

2. In a container having a gable type closure at the upper end thereof including an upstanding apex, a 11ft ring comprising a flexible loop having dependmg tabs thereon disposed alongside of the apex and secured thereto whereby the flexible loop may be used for liftmg and manipulating the container and also permitting stacking of containers, together with a pouring spout at one end of the gable type closure adapted to be unfolded to forrn a pouring spout, and a pull ring on one panel of said gable type closure to unfold the pouring spout to poring condition, said pull ring being stamped out from said one panel of the gable type closure thus leaving an opening therein, and an internal closure panel sealed to the interior of said one panel of the gable type closure and forming a closure for the opening formed when the pull ring was stamped out, said one panel of the gable belng triangular, said internal closure panel being triangular with the edges thereof coinciding with the score l1nes defining said one panel, and a recess formed in the bottom of the stamped out opening to enable insertion of the fingernail under the pull ring to enable it to be pulled upwardly about crease lines at the upper end of the pull ring which acts as a hinge for the pull ring.

3. In a carton having a gable type closure at the upper end thereof including an inwardly inclined triangular end panel and a pair of folding end panels connected with inwardly inclined side panels and the triangular end panel, the upper edges of the side panels being sealed together and the upper edges of the pair of end panels being sealed together when the carton is sealed, said pair of end panels being unfolded and pulled outwardly along with the upper end of the triangular end panel to form a pouring spout for pouring the contents from the carton, that improvement comprising means on the external surface of the triangular end panel to receive an externally applied lateral force to urge the triangular end panel and pair of end panels outwardly to unfolded condition to form a pouring spout, said means being disposed completely within the confines of edges of the side panels before unfolding of the pouring spout.

4. The structure as defined in claim 3 wherein said means is in the form of a pull ring connected with the triangular end panel adjacent the upper end thereof and below the apex for enabling drinking from the carton.

5. The structure as defined in claim 3 wherein said pull ring includes a triangular base having an apex coinciding with the apex of the triangular end panel and downwardly diverging edges coinciding with the downwardly diverging edges of the triangular end panel, and a loop-shaped ring attached to the triangular base along the base edge thereof with the pull ring being disposed against the upper surface of the triangular end panel and the base therefor reinforcing and rigidifying the apeX portion of the triangular end panel.

6. The structure as defined in claim 3 wherein said pull ring includes a pair of concentric cuts formed in the triangular end panel to define a loop shaped member normally coplanar with the triangular end panel but pivotal to an upwardly extending position to form a pull ring, and an internal panel underlying the triangular end panel and generally coextensive therewith to form a closure for the opening defined in the triangular end panel when the pull ring is formed therefrom and reinforcing the triangular end panel to facilitate the outward movement thereof when an outward force is exerted on the pull ring.

7. The structure as defined in claim 5 together with a life ring attached to the sealed upper edges of the pair of side panels and end panels to facilitate lifting and manipulation of the carton.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS DAVID M. MOORHEAD, Primary Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. 

